After a seemingly endless wait, the college basketball season will finally begin.

The BYU men’s basketball team will begin its quest to win a fourth-straight conference title tonight at 7:30 against Bradley. After cruising through two blowout exhibition games, the Cougars will now be playing games that count.

Bradley finished with a 21-15 record last season and took second place in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. This is the Braves’ first visit to Provo since 1974.

Bradley will be led by Sam Maniscalco, who averaged 12.6 points and 3.1 assists per game last year. They are also returning Andrew Warren, who averaged 13.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game before injuries caused him to miss all of last season.

BYU finished 25-8 last year, won a third-consecutive MWC Championship and made a third-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Jimmer Fredette and Jonathan Tavernari will be leading the Cougars again this season.

Tavernari, who is entering his senior year, is currently No. 25 on the BYU all-time scoring list and number two on the career three-pointer list. He only needs 12 more threes to pass Mark Bigelow.

The Cougars also had some exciting news about their team for next season.

Anson Winder, a guard from Las Vegas, has signed a national letter of intent, while BYU also received word that Chris Collinsworth and Nick Martineau will return from their missions in time for the 2010-11 season.

“We’re pleased to have signed Anson Winder,” Rose said. “He’s a versatile guard and a terrific athlete. Anson is a very capable scorer and takes pride in being an excellent defender and rebounder. He will flourish in our transition game. Anson is a dedicated team player and was an integral part of Bishop Gorman High School’s state championship team last season.”

Winder is a 6-3 combo guard who averaged 13.8 ppg, 8.2 rpg and 3.0 apg while earning all-Southwest Sunset League honors as a junior last year.

Collinsworth is a 6-9 forward from Provo High who averaged 3.2 ppg and 4.8 rpg before leaving on his mission. He will return to play with his little brother, Kyle, who signed a letter of intent earlier this week.

Martineau is a 5-11 point guard from Davis High. Before his mission, he played just 5.8 minutes per game as a true freshman, putting up totals of 13 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds.

The amount of experience and talented youth on the roster will make the Cougars an exciting team to watch not only this season, but for years to come.

As such, the student section in the Marriott Center has been expanded, which means that more students will have the chance to get a closer look at the action.

Tonight’s game will be broadcast on The Mtn. and KSL Newsradio. The men’s game against Bradley is the second part of a double-header — the women’s team opens its regular season against Utah Valley University at 3:30 p.m.